1 6 stouffville suntribune thursday february 8 2007 treatments toothpaste provide fluoride from page 1 ligrams per litre of water a portion of stouffvilles water should be coming from lake ontario in 2008 meaning fluoride concentra tions should rise but in the meantime all the small er communities rely on the natural concentration of fluoride mr ban- non said groundwater supplies in smaller communities generally arent fluori dated the municipalities that do have fluoride have their water piped in from toronto which fluoridates its water a lot of people dont want extra things added to their water and fluo ride is pretty nasty to deal with from an operators perspective debbie korolnek general manager of water and waste water for york region said fluoridation is not a black and white issue she said acceptable concentrations of fluo ride were lowered in 2000 due to health concerns her advice for people living in areas with unfluoridated water is to talk to their dentist to see whats best for them dr bob boadway who has prac tised dentistry in stouffville for 24 years said studies show areas with fluoridated water have a lower dental cavity rate than areas without it on the whole he sees significantly fewer children with dental cavities compared to the first few years of his practice mainly due to the fact people are more aware of how to care for their teeth they use fluoridated toothpaste and have fluoride treatments in the dentists office that s why you dont really have to have it fluoridation he said since theres very little fluoride in town water youngsters from three years of age and up can safely use fluoridated toothpaste he said but they should be encouraged not to swallow it regular fluoride treatments in the dentists office which take about a minute will also help to reduce cavi ties while the ontario dental associa tion advises that children under six not use fluoridated toothpaste that warn ing is directed to residents living in toronto arid other areas with fluoridat ed water dr boadway said inoffice fluoride treatments in rural communities can help lessen plaque buildup that can start the process towards cavities and lessen sensitivity of teeth theyre also useful for older people whose gums have receded and are more prone to having cavities in the exposed roots of their teeth one hazard of too much fluoride particularly for very young children is fluorosis where white areas or brown stains can appear on teeth the risk of this disappears once the teeth are formed there are other health hazards including impacts on the skeletal sys tem with severe overdosage of fluoride the ontario dental association supports fluoride and community water fluoridation according to its website in 1945 the city of brantford was the first municipality in canada to have fluoride added to its water supply communities with fluoridated water have a significantly lower rate of dental carries and every dollar spent on fluoridated water saves 80 in restorative costs ken swartz spokesperson for the ontario dental association said he added that about 75 per cent of the population of ontario has access to community fluoridation more information about fluoridation is available by logging on to yorkxaserviceswater or odaonca staff photohannelore volpe dr bob boadway and dental assistant sandra lidster prepare for a fluoride treatment at park drive dental centre in stoufiville where the name is the number w independent volkswagen specialist free courtesy car by appointment yes we do domestics qnune3qqkingm specializing in asian hybrid repairs 1 38 sandiford dr unit 5 stouffville 9056422886 or 1 8774 1 02886auto yfjgjix customers recbfve a free soup bowl with i a lhii i attention business owners stouffville unionville telephone directory will be closing on march 31st 2007 prices ih effect until friday february 16 2007 h- 0 visit wwwmmmeatshopscom for a location near you book your ad space for more information call 1 8777266482